Mission Ready Aesthetix — Your Protocol

Peak Week: Now to Stage

Mike — August 15 Show
Today
Fri, Aug 7
You're On
Load Day 2
Days To Show
8
Show Date
Aug 15
Where You're At

Right Now

You're on Day 2 of the sodium load — keep pushing sodium and water hard today, exactly like yesterday. Tomorrow (Saturday) is when depletion starts and the whole picture shifts, so today is your last high-carb, high-sodium day before things get tighter. Everything below walks you through every day between now and stage.

This block is about tightening up conditioning, not cutting weight — you're not far off. Follow this exactly and don't adjust anything on your own between now and Saturday the 15th. If anything feels off, reach out to me before you change a single number.

The Full Countdown

Timeline

Today — Fri Aug 7You Are Here
Sodium Load — Day 2
High sodium, high water. Final day before depletion begins.
Sat Aug 8 – Wed Aug 12
Depletion
Carbs come way down, sodium steps down in stages, daily sauna. This is the working phase — trust it even when it feels flat mid-week.
Thu Aug 13 – Fri Aug 14
Carb Load & Water Taper
Carbs come back up over two days, water tapers down hard into Friday night.
Sat Aug 15
Show Day
Small carb top-up in the morning, mirror-check adjustments backstage. Let's go.
Your Numbers

Macros — Now to Stage

Phase Carbs Protein Fat
TodayFri, Aug 7 175g220g40g
DepletionSat Aug 8 – Wed Aug 12 35g220g35g
Carb LoadThu Aug 13 – Fri Aug 14 Progressive load — details below220g35g
Show DaySat Aug 15 Cream of rice, half portion, cooked thick — morning only
Protein doesn't move

220g stays locked the entire way to stage, including depletion. It's the one number that never gets adjusted regardless of how any other day feels.

Daily Volume

Cardio

Depletion Phase

  • 60–90 min/day, easy pace (LISS)
  • Sat Aug 8 – Wed Aug 12

Carb Load & Show Day

  • Zero cardio — full rest starting Thursday
  • Every bit of carb you load needs to stay banked for stage
Now to Stage

Training

You've handled training through depletion well in past preps, so we're pushing this side harder than a typical taper — training this way through Tuesday actually helps the muscles you're training fill back out better once carbs come back Thursday. From Wednesday on, the priority flips to protecting recovery, not adding more.

Day Training
Today, Fri Aug 7 Normal training — last full session before depletion changes things
Sat Aug 8 – Tue Aug 11 Train daily, higher reps and shorter rest than usual — push this hard
Wed Aug 12 — Reset Day No lifting — walking and stretching only. This resets your hormones and gets you ready to respond well to the carb load
Thu Aug 13 Short, light morning session only — 15–20 min, no heavy loads
Fri Aug 14 Rest — no training. Posing practice only
Sat Aug 15 Light pump work backstage only, right before you go on
Push hard early, protect yourself late

Go hard Saturday through Tuesday — that's where the work actually pays off. Wednesday is a full reset, not just a lighter day — no lifting at all, just walking and stretching. Being sore or inflamed this close to stage can show up on stage as puffiness, which works against everything else we're doing this week. Stick to movements you already know well through Tuesday — nothing new this late. If anything feels off at any point, reach out to me before you push through it.

Thu Aug 13 – Fri Aug 14

Massage / Hydro Bed

If you have access to a massage chair or hydro bed, these two days are when to actually use them — the extra blood flow helps push the carbs you're loading into your muscles more effectively. Not useful during depletion, since there's nothing to move in yet.

Day Timing
Thu Aug 13 15–20 min mid-morning after training and your first carb meal. Optional second session early evening
Fri Aug 14 15–20 min, late morning only — nothing past early afternoon
Stop early Friday

Cut this off by early afternoon Friday. Anything too close to stepping on stage can cause the same puffy look we're working all week to avoid. This one's optional — skip it entirely if it's not easily available, it's a bonus, not a requirement.

Fri Aug 7 – Sat Aug 15

Water & Sodium — Day by Day

Date Phase Sodium Water
Fri Aug 7 Sodium Load — Day 2 6,000–8,000mg 2–2.5 gal
Sat Aug 8 Depletion Day 1 2,500–3,000mg 2–2.5 gal (hold)
Sun Aug 9 Depletion Day 2 2,500–3,000mg 1.75–2 gal
Mon Aug 10 Depletion Day 3 1,500–2,000mg 1.25–1.5 gal
Tue Aug 11 Depletion Day 4 1,500–2,000mg 1–1.25 gal
Wed Aug 12 Depletion Day 5 — Checkpoint Under 1,500mg 64–80oz
Thu Aug 13 Carb Load Begins 2,000–2,500mg 48–64oz
Fri Aug 14 Carb Load Day 2 — Final Taper 1,500–2,000mg 20–32oz, cut off by evening
Sat Aug 15 Show Day 2oz sip with breakfast only — nothing after until I see you. Full detail below.
Why sodium steps down instead of dropping all at once

Dropping it in three stages — Saturday, Monday, Wednesday — keeps your body actively flushing water the whole week instead of just once early on. Trust the process even if you feel a little flat mid-week; that's expected and it's part of why this works.

Sat Aug 8 – Wed Aug 12

Depletion Support

These run alongside your regular meals during depletion only — none of them continue once the carb load starts Thursday.

Date Asparagus Vitamin C Dandelion Tea Xpel
Sat Aug 8 1–2 servings 1,000mg AM 1 cup, AM 2 doses, AM/PM
Sun Aug 9 1–2 servings 1,000mg AM 1 cup, AM 2 doses, AM/PM
Mon Aug 10 1–2 servings 1,000mg AM 1 cup, AM/midday 2 doses, AM/PM
Tue Aug 11 1–2 servings 1,000mg AM 1 cup, AM/midday 2 doses, AM/PM
Wed Aug 12 1–2 servings — last day 1,000mg AM — last day 1 cup, AM — last day 2 doses, AM/PM — last day
Thu Aug 13 – Sat Aug 15 None of the four — clean carb load and show-day protocol only
If something feels off

Two Xpel doses a day is the plan, but if you notice excessive flatness, cramping, or anything that feels like you're holding water instead of losing it, reach out to me right away — we may pull back to one dose. Don't adjust this on your own.

Thu Aug 13 – Fri Aug 14

Carb Load — Day by Day

Thursday
Aug 13

Carb load begins — dry sources: rice cakes, jasmine rice, bread. Water comes up to 48–64oz, sodium comes back up to 2,000–2,500mg. Send me a photo Thursday night so we can check in on how you're looking.

Friday
Aug 14

Final carb load day. Water pulls down to 20–32oz, cut off by evening. Sodium down to 1,500–2,000mg. Send me a morning photo and a night/backstage photo — this is the day where small adjustments still matter, so stay reachable.

Check in at every point

Thursday night, Friday morning, and Friday night — send a photo each time. Depending on how you look, we may adjust Friday's carb amount or water slightly. Don't guess on this yourself — reach out to me and I'll make the call.

Aug 15 — Prejudging at 10:00 AM

Show Day Timeline

5:00 AM
Wake Up
Straight out of bed, no water yet.
5:15 AM
First Meal
Cream of rice, half portion, with 1 tbsp jelly + 1 tbsp peanut butter. Cook it thick — just enough water to soften, not to thin it out. Sip no more than 2oz of water with this meal, nothing beyond that.
5:15 AM – Backstage
No Water, No Sips
Nothing else to drink from here until I see you in person. Not a sip, not a rinse-and-spit, nothing — I'll tell you if and when anything changes based on how you look.
6:30 AM
Pump Room Prep
Posing run-through, oils, suit check.
8:00 AM
Arrive Venue
Check in, get settled backstage.
9:00 AM
Final Mirror Check
This is where any last call gets made — pump work, posing adjustments, anything that needs it. I'll handle it in person.
10:00 AM
Prejudging
Let's go.
Why this meal, cooked this way

Cream of rice is a fast-digesting carb — it fills the muscle out without sitting heavy or taking hours to process. The jelly and peanut butter add a small hit of sugar and fat on top, which helps fullness and skin tightness without changing the water picture. Cooking it thick with minimal water matters just as much as the ingredients — every extra ounce of water in the food is still water, and the whole point of the last few days was getting that number down. The same logic is why nothing else gets sipped after this: one small planned intake you can control beats guessing at "just a little water" throughout the morning.